Hi Guys
I'm trying to start picking up bits of climbing gear. At the min i'm looking at the Karabiners but so far there are 3 different types. Could some one explain the different types for me.
Screw gate
Wire gate
straight gate biner.
Cheers ???
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carabiner
Basically (This is just what I've picked up while climbing)
Screw gates come in large (HMS) and smaller. The smaller ones are used for setting up belays So you have a piece of gear in the rock and a small screwgate on that with a sling or rope through it (x2 minimum). HMS's are used when the rope will be moving i.e when your belaying or using a munter hitch etc.
The wire and straight are pretty much the same thing. Usually used for clipping into the rope via a quickdraw, for racking gear on your harness. The wire was developed mainly for winter climbing as its less prone to freezing open but (apparently) its aslo easier to clip into in a hurry because the wire creates a flatter surface for the rope to sit on and is therefore less likely to roll off when you apply pressure to open the gate! I never noticed a difference, i still just brick it, close my eyes and wave it at the rope hoping I hear it click shut!
twenty clicks beat me to it! Check out needle sports aswell they explain a good bit about kit.
http://www.needlesports.com/acatalog/Mail_Order_Karabiners_22.html (http://www.needlesports.com/acatalog/Mail_Order_Karabiners_22.html)
Are wire gate as safe/strong as screwgate?
their pretty much rated the same. anything from 20kn up to around 25/26kn. as a general rule try and use screwgates for safety and snap's for racking and quickdraws. If you lok at a crab you'll see its strength rating on the side something like 24kn closed 7kn open and 9kn cross loaded for example.